Baseball and softball bats are well known sporting goods. Ball bats typically include a hitting or barrel portion for impacting a ball, a handle portion having a reduced diameter for gripping by the player, and an enlarged knob secured to a proximal end of the handle portion. Many young players enjoy and participate in the game of baseball or softball for several years as they grow. As a result of such growth, players often move from one bat size, weight and/or length of bat to another bat that is typically greater in length, weight and/or size. Upon transitioning from a smaller, shorter and/or lighter bat to a bat that is slightly longer and/or heavier, many younger players find the need to grip such bats further up the bat handle because by gripping the bat further up the handle, or choking-up, the bat can become easier to swing. “Choking-up” on the bat changes the effective length of the bat, and reduces the swing weight of the bat by altering the location of the pivoting of the bat during a swing.
In other situations, baseball and softball players of all ages and/or skill levels, may choose to “choke-up” on the bat for one or more of a variety of reasons, such as, to reduce the effective length of the bat, to reduce the swing weight of the bat making the bat easier to swing, and to decrease the time it takes for a player to bring a bat into the hitting zone.
One drawback of “choking-up” on a ball bat is that the player no longer benefits from the bulbous shape of the knob serving as a stop or bearing surface for the player's lower gripping hand, or the bulbous shape providing a surface of the player's hand grasp. As a result, many player's find the swing when choking-up to uncomfortable or undesirable primarily due to the lack of contact with the knob or inability to grasp the knob when swinging.
Accordingly several needs still exist in the ball bat industry. A need exists for a ball bat that can readily accommodate a player transitioning to a slightly longer, larger and/or heavier bat. What is needed is a bat that facilitates a player's ability to make such a transition to a longer, larger, and/or heavier bat. It would be advantageous to provide a ball bat that provides a player with the ability to contact an enlarged surface, such as a knob-like surface, while choking-up. It would be beneficial to provide such advantages in a manner that does not reduce the playability of the bat, or negatively affect the performance, feel and/or appearance of the bat. It would also be advantageous to provide an efficient, easy to use tool, system or method that would allow a player to choke-up or adjust the location of his or her grip during a season, game, or at-bat.
This invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings described herein below, and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.